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HOFCC Core Beliefs
Friday, 21 July 2006
Article Index
The Essential Reforms of HOFCC
Reform #1: "Reformed in Doctrine"
Reform #2: "Exemplary in Leadership"
Reform #3: "We Are Responsible in Our Liberty"
Reform #4: Charismatic in Ministry
Reform #5: Spirit and Truth in Worship
Reform #6: "Evangelical in Mission"
Reform #7: "Devoted to Ministry Hospitality"
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Reform #3: "We Are Responsible in Our Liberty"

Part 1: The Importance of Our Liberty

This means that we rejoice in the liberty God has given us under the Lordship of Christ. We have real liberty to live as we believe is most pleasing to Him. "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). Our liberty is not freedom to serve ourselves only, but to pursue our highest joy in God by loving one another. We have no liberty to do what the Bible defines as sin.

But there are areas of life where the Scriptures do not offer specific direction on how best to please God. Paul refers to the eating of various foods and to the keeping of various holy days as examples of such disputable matters. We could add TV viewing, smoking cigars and home schooling! Sincere believers can come to very different conclusions. "One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind" (Rom. 14:4-5). In such cases, the loving edification of others is to be our guiding principle. Paul writes, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify" (1 Cor. 10:23). When we find that a brother in Christ differs with us on how to best use his liberty, we are not to condemn him. Paul asks, "Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls;" (Rom. 14:5). We must wait to see what the "fruit" will be.

Each Christian’s life-style is like a garden which belongs to the Lord. Though God demands good fruit from every garden, He gives each gardener liberty to "plant" and to "weed" as he believes will bear the most fruit. Over time, the cumulative effect of each gardener’s decisions will produce a "harvest" either of glory or of regret. It is this "fruit" that will justly vindicate or indict each gardener’s use of his own liberty.

In this analogy, each Christian’s life-style is like a garden which belongs to the Lord. God demands good fruit from every Christian life. However, in order to help us grow in maturity and wisdom, He has chosen to give us real liberty to "plant" and to "weed" as we believe will bear the most fruit for His glory. The choices are ours.

Part 2: The "Liberty Garden"

But how are we to decide what to cultivate and what to eliminate? Paul tells the Christians in Corinth "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." (1 Cor. 6:12) and again, "... All things are lawful, but not all things edify" (1 Cor. 10:23). Here we have three clear criteria: 1.) Profit in fulfilling God’s purposes, 2.) Freedom from bondage, and 3.) Building up fellow Christians in their faith. We are free to "plant" whatever leads to these things and to "weed out" whatever does not.

So, are Christians "allowed" to watch TV and movies? Certainly. But what is "allowed" is not really the issue. What is the best use of our liberty? What is being accomplished... or neglected? Go for the profit, the freedom and the edification!

Are Christians "allowed to smoke?" (e.g cigarettes? cigars?) or "drink" (whiskey? wine? beer? coffee? tea? cola?), or to "dance" (e.g. swing dance? ball room? tap? ballet? folk dance?). Again, these are the wrong questions. It is not a matter of what we can get away with, or how close we can get to sin. The right question is, "What will result in the greatest profit, freedom and edification?" Plant to harvest.

On the other hand, we can look at what some choose to do (or not do) by way of service toward God and others. Do all Christian parents "have to" have large families? Practice home birth? Home school their children? Or bake whole wheat bread? Certainly not. Do all "have to" deny themselves expensive homes and cars in order to do more for Christian missions? No. Our liberty in Christ is real. We have to do only what we believe to be best in the light of God’s Word.

In this simple analogy, each Christian’s life-style is like a garden which, it must always be remembered, rightfully belongs to the Lord. God demands good fruit from the liberty garden of every Christian life. However, in order to help us grow in maturity and wisdom, He has chosen to give us real liberty and discretion to "plant" and to "weed" as we believe will bear the most fruit for His glory. The goal of every decision as to what we choose to cultivate and what we choose to eliminate must always be to bear a greater harvest of what is pleasing to God. Never are we at liberty to pursue any other objective.

For example, one individual may decide that every day should be devoted equally to God. For him, "every day is the Lord’s day!" But another may believe that to keep everyday alike is to keep no day at all unto the Lord, and so he chooses to keep one day each week as a special day of rest from normal work and devoted to worship, Bible teaching and fellowship. (see Rom. 14:5) So, who is right? Paul implies that both may be right in so far as "Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind" that what he is doing is being done "for the Lord" (see Rom. 14:6). In the same way Paul addresses the issue of dietary rules. Paul’s point is that Christians have liberty in such matters to make real decisions as to how best to honor and glorify God. But how are we to decide what is an appropriate use of our liberty?

Part 3: The "Liberty Garden" in Practice

In a similar discussion Paul tells the Christians in Corinth "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." (1 Cor. 6:12) and again, "... All things are lawful, but not all things edify" (1 Cor. 10:23). In other words, profitability in fulfilling God’s purposes, the maintainance one’s freedom from entanglement in this world, and the building up of fellow Christians in Christ’s church, are basic criteria which should guide us. We should plant what leads to these things and weed out of our lives whatever does not.

So, are Christians "allowed" to watch TV? Paul would say "Certainly." But is doing so the best use of one’s liberty? It would depend on what is being accomplished or neglected in the process. Programing varies. Obligations differ. Simply be wise and do good.

Are Christians "allowed" to "smoke?" (e.g cigarettes? cigars? medical mariuajana? burn insence?) or "drink" (hard liquer? wine? beer? coffee? tea? cola?), or to "dance" (e.g. ball room? swing dance, folk dance? tap? ballet?). Again, be wise and do good.

On the other side, we can look at what we choose to do or not do by way of service and self-denial. Do all Christian parents "have to" have large families? practice home birth? home school their children? and bake wholewheat bread? (Think of it as being "homier than thou.") Do all "have to" forego wearing the latest styles of clothing? Do all "have to" deny themselves expensive homes and expensive cars in order to send more money to missions? Our liberty in Christ is real. Be wise and do good. Biblical convictions must be defined, established and maintained in all of these areas of life, but always with an unswerving view toward doing what we believe to be most pleasing to God, avoiding the bondages of addiction, edifying one another in Christ and "not causing a weaker brother to stumble" at our use of liberty.

"Well then," you may be thinking, "That doesn’t leave me any liberty at all. There will always be someone around who believes my use of liberty is wrong." Paul anticipated this problem and he offered some very pointed instruction to both sides. To the weaker brother he asks, "Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls;" (Rom. 14:5). But to the stronger brother he writes, "It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves." (Rom. 14:20-22) Never think that an open lack of concern for the good of others can somehow be a legitimate use of your liberty in Christ. Our liberty is to serve God and one another.

Over time, the cumulative effect of each Christian’s liberty gardening decisions will produce his or her general "harvest." It is such "fruit" that inevitably vindicates or indicts each gardener’s use of liberty. Though God may, by His grace and mercy, choose to cancel a bad harvest or two, over all, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7)

For men who aspire to serve in the ministry this principle has immense consequences. The relative wisdom or foolishness of his choices in Christ will then be on display. His family relationships (or lack there of), his emotional stability, his reputation in his community, his financial circumstances, the quality of his own moral character and that of his grown children will speak volumes as to what we has done, or failed to do with his liberty. These are the areas of life that display in ways beyond dispute, whether or not a man has the biblical qualifications required to serve as an Elder or a Deacon in a local church. Men in these offices are to be role models. In effect they are to be the "Master Gardeners" of the local church. Their "liberty gardens" are to be so full of good fruit that church members under their care can learn by their example how best to use one’s liberty in Christ.

Part 4: Don't Flaunt Your Liberty!

As we saw last week, our liberty in Christ to decide how best to bear good fruit for the glory of God is real. But our biblical convictions must be clearly defined, established and maintained. In each area of life we must have an unswerving view toward 1.) doing whatever is most profitable for God’s glory, 2.) avoiding the bondages of addiction to anything, 3.) and edifying one another in Christ. Then, Paul adds a 4th guideline: "It is good not to ...do anything by which your brother stumbles" (Rom. 14:21).
"Well then," you might be thinking, "That doesn’t leave me any real liberty at all! There will always be someone around who believes my use of liberty is wrong." Paul anticipated this problem and he offered some very pointed instruction to both sides. To the weaker brother he asks, "Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls;" (Rom. 14:5). But to the stronger brother he writes, "The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves" (Rom. 14:22). An open lack of concern for the good of others is always wrong. Our liberty is to serve God and to build up one another.

Does this mean we can practice our liberty only in secret? No, but we are not intended to inconsiderately "flaunt our liberty." We are to be willing to forgo our liberty, temporarily, whenever it is expedient to do so. But we need not be bound by the consciences of others. Does all this sound too complicated? It’s really not. It is just a matter of showing real love and concern for others in the way we use our liberty in Christ. - to be continued

Over the last few weeks, we have looked at the liberty we have in Christ. It is like a garden where we are free to plant and to weed as we think best in the light of God’s Word. Every Christian is free to raise a crop of good fruit for the glory of God. We need not judge one another because God alone is our Master. But neither should we ignore one another because we are all student gardeners eager to improve.

Over time, each Christian’s liberty gardening methods will be on display. Lawless gardeners will let every weed go to seed. Legalistic gardeners will kill every green thing because it might be a weed. But those who walk closely with their Lord will learn to distinguish between weeds and vegetables. They will gently pull the weeds by hand without uprooting the tender plantings of the Lord. Eventually, a harvest will vindicate or indict each gardener’s use of liberty. Though God in mercy may cancel a few bad harvests, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7)

All Christian have an eternal interest in being wise in their use of liberty. But for those men who aspire to serve God as church leaders these principles have more immediate consequences. The wisdom or foolishness of a man’s use of liberty will eventually be on display in his family relationships (or the lack there of). The quality of his own moral character and that of his grown children will be revealed. These are the areas of life Paul tells us to look at closely in deciding whether or not a man meets the qualifications to serve as an Elder or a Deacon in his local church. "By their fruits you shall know them."
In terms of our analogy, those who hold church offices are to be "master gardeners" who are able to stand in the middle of their "liberty gardens" and teach their fellow church members how to produce a better harvest. The credibility of their opinions on how to interpret Scripture will be weighty to the extent that the fruit in their own "liberty garden" is good. Men should hold these offices only when they have proven to be role models in the Christian life.